In 2001 the last Ukrainian launcher of the intercontinental ballistic missile, RS-22, was destroyed and the central military command post of the 46 th Missile Division was transformed into a museum. The USA has the similar museum which is called Ronald Reagan Minuteman.

The Ukraine inherited the third world’s largest nuclear arsenal from the USSR: 176 intercontinental ballistic missiles, each of which contained 6-10 nuclear warheads (the power of each of them was many times greater than the power of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan in 1945).

But all this wealth was destroyed. With some difficulties, we should say.

Exploder. Cooling systems

The greatest difficulty arose when the Ukrainian blasters started to destroy the missile silos. Ironically, they didn’t succeed. Then they added more explosives – no results. Then added some more – all was useless.

And only when some angry men and women from the neighbouring villages came and said that their icons had fallen on the floor, and the water from the wells had gone, it was decided to take some other measures.

“Don’t open without permission”

So the high-tech Germans were hired for doing this work. They used abrasive waterjets to cut thick high-alloy steel and did their job quite well. But their service cost so high that very soon the Ukrainians had to refuse it. So the Germans managed to cut only one installation. After that some simple Ukrainian lads with crowbars, sledgehammers and blowtorches were hired and it was them who destroyed the rest of the economy.

Now lots of former strategic assets and gifts are exhibited in the museum.

“besides vodka the Makarov pistol was attached to the kit so that after the whole world had already been destroyed, the officers could make their last decision…”
American missile crews have similar kit. It contains champagne and tickets to Disney World.